


In Sickness and In Health

by flowing_river



Series: Cairo Week 2020 [5]
Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: Angst, Cairo Day 2020 (MacGyver TV 2016), Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt Angus Macgyver (Macgyver 2016), Hurt Jack Dalton (MacGyver TV 2016), Hurt/Comfort, Parental Jack Dalton (MacGyver TV 2016), Protective Jack Dalton (MacGyver 2016), Whump, Worried Jack Dalton (MacGyver TV 2016)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-18
Updated: 2020-04-18
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:33:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23722417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flowing_river/pseuds/flowing_river
Summary: Jack wakes up in the hospital alone...(One possible scenario of what could happen after "This is Going to Hurt")
Relationships: Jack Dalton & Angus MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016), Jack Dalton (MacGyver TV 2016) & Riley Davis
Series: Cairo Week 2020 [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1703467
Comments: 22
Kudos: 85





	In Sickness and In Health

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is one possible scenario of what could happen after “This is Going to Hurt” (part 3 of this series). It’s written for the Cairo Week Day 4 Prompt: In Sickness and In Health. (Sorry it’s a day late, I got distracted yesterday).

Jack awakes to a loud beeping noise. He winces as the noise seems to increase his headache. He opens his eyes and recognizes the Phoenix Medical room he’s laying on. He tries to remember what happened to get him here, but the last thing he remembers is boarding a plane with Mac-

_Mac!_

Jack looks around and his room is empty. That either means that Mac is also hurt or…no Mac is hurt. He doesn’t let himself think of anything else.

Jack tries to sit up, but he’s stopped when Riley enters the room and stops him as soon as she sees him.

“Jack, you have to stay down. You have a pretty bad head injury,” she says.

“Mac,” Jack gasps, “Where’s Mac? I can’t remember what happened.”

A look of realization passes over Riley’s face and she sticks her thumb out towards the wall behind her saying, “He’s your neighbor.”

Jack sighs in relief than another thought passes through his mind, “Is he okay? What happened?”

Riley frowns, “He’s…alive. And stable. The doctors are still waiting for him to wake up. But they seemed more worried about you because you had a head injury and weren’t waking up. You’ve been out for about 2 days. And Mac hasn’t woken up since the surgery-”

“Surgery?” Jack interrupts, “Riley, what happened?”

She sighs, “We don’t really know that much. We were hoping you or Mac would tell us when if you woke up, but you don’t remember anything?”

Jack shakes his head, then winces.

“All we know is that is seems you guys were attack and you fought them off. Both of you have bruised knuckles and Mac has a few broken ones. You got hit on the head. We don’t know if you passed out right away or after some time. Mac took some hits to the ribs. The doctors assume they were bruised or cracked at first and they got worse because he carried you to exfil.”

“What? He carried me? With injured ribs?”

“We don’t know how long he carried you for, but he was carrying you when he got to exfil. He got you to the medical team and immediately collapsed. There was too much pressure on his rib cage and his ribs broke and caused internal bleeding. The doctors are amazed he was able to carry you in so much pain, while he was bleeding so much.”

Jack stares at Riley for a few seconds before saying, “He’s always the stubborn one.”

Riley nods, “The exfil agents said when he got there all he kept saying was to help you. And when he collapsed, the last thing he said was that at least you were safe.”

Jack freezes. He can’t help a few tears from falling after hearing that, “So if he didn’t have to carry me…”

“Don’t do that, Jack,” Riley says, “You know he would never leave you behind. And the doctors said that if Mac hadn’t gotten you to exfil when he did…”

“He wouldn’t be lying in a hospital bed if he hadn’t carried me,” Jack says, “I’m suppose to watch his back, not get him more hurt.”

“If Mac was here he would say that goes both ways. You know he would never leave you behind, no matter what. Now I’m going to call the doctor and you’re going to stop feeling guilty for something that isn’t your fault as you like to constantly remind Mac of,” Riley says before stepping out of the room and calling for someone.

* * *

_A few days later…_

Jack is sitting next to Mac. Riley stepped out a few hours ago, saying that Thornton needed her for something.

Mac has woken up a few times but hasn’t really been aware of where he was. He hasn’t been resting peacefully, he constantly cries out for Jack in his dreams and Jack’s heart breaks every time Mac begs for someone to help Jack.

_Oh kiddo, you can’t stop worrying for me, when you’re the one lying on a medical bed._

Granted Jack is still on strict rest. He’s allowed to sit by Mac during the day but has to return to his own bed at night. He’s often woken up at night by the sounds of Mac yelling.

They usually die down after a few minutes when, Jack assumes, that the nurse gives him something to keep him calm. He knows that it doesn’t stop the dream from continuing though…

Mac murmurs something and his eyes flutter open.

“Mac?” he asks. Mac doesn’t look very lucid, so Jack expects him to mutter something and go back to sleep, but instead Mac says,

“Jack?”

“Yeah, kiddo. It’s me.”

Mac’s eyes open wider at that.

“Jack,” he gasps again, “Are you okay?”

“Easy, kiddo. I’m fine. You’re the one lying in medical.”

“Your head-”

“Will be fine. Don’t worry about me, kid.”

Mac sighs in relief.

“How are you feeling?” Jack asks, brushing his hand through Mac’s hair.

Mac leans into the touch, so Jack keeps up the gently running his hand through Mac’s hair.

“I feel like I got run over by a truck,” Mac answers after a few seconds.

“Sounds about right, except I was the truck,” Jack says.

Mac laughs and then groan, putting one of his hands on his ribs.

“Easy, you don’t wanna undo all the doctors hard work,” Jack says, “What happened out there?”

Mac hesitates for a few seconds before saying, “You got knocked out in the fight. I carried you to exfil.”

“The doctors say my weight put too much pressure on your ribs and that’s why you got so hurt.”

Mac shook his head, “That made it worse, but it was mostly because I fell.”

“You fell?”

Mac nodded, “I tripped while carrying you and fell. I think that’s when it got bad. But I ignored it.”

“Mac, you shouldn’t have-”

“I couldn’t leave you behind Jack. You would have done the same for me.”

“You don’t weigh a thing, kiddo. It’s hard for you to pick me if it you’re 100%, but while you’re hurt…”

A few tears slip down Mac’s face, “I couldn’t leave you behind Jack. I couldn’t let you die.”  
  


“I know, kiddo, but-”

Mac is full on sobbing now, “I can’t let you die, Jack. No matter what happens. I can’t leave you behind.”

“Mac-”

“What would you have done in my place?” Mac asks through his tears.

Jack doesn’t answer. He doesn’t have to. They both know the answer to that.

Jack moves the hand that’s running though Mac’s hair to his face to wipe away his tears. He grasps Mac’s hand and stays there, being a steady presence while Mac cries. He doesn’t try to silence Mac, he knows Mac has been told his whole life that he should hide his emotions and never cry. Mac doesn’t need that right now.

So, he sits there and rubs circles into Mac’s hand while moving his other hand back to Mac’s hair. Mac’s sobs eventually die down and Mac starts drifting off to sleep.

“Stay,” Mac murmurs.

“Don’t worry, kiddo. I’m not going anywhere.”

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think!


End file.
